Here are the best plants for adding spooky drama to your yard
The last week of October has some tricks and treats for local gardeners looking for ways to upgrade a Halloween landscape. Celebrating all things orange and black this week, here is a list of the best plants for adding spooky drama to the landscape:
Orange you glad that fall has arrived?
There is more to the color orange than pots of sunset-colored petunias, begonias and daisies on a summer patio. (You can see my orange- and yellow-themed patio pots by friending me on Facebook or Instagram.) To add some autumn fire to your landscape, search out these warm-toned trees and shrubs.
Japanese maples: “Crimson Queen” and “Orangeola” are just two of the many varieties that explode like a fallen jar of marmalade in the fall. Visit local nurseries now to pick out maples and other trees with great fall foliage. Fall is the season to shop for your favorite pumpkin shades of orange and red.
Hypericum St. John’s Wort shrub: The shrubby version of St. John’s Wort (not the groundcover) is a new variety that displays bright orange berries that resemble mini pumpkins. This tough drought-resistant shrub has flowers and great foliage offering three seasons of color.
Find more orange and warm autumn tones with burning bush, oak leaf hydrangeas, sedum “Autumn Joy,” cotoneaster, pyracanthea and chrysanthemums, all waiting to be adopted now to decorate your autumn garden.
Black is back
Adding black to your porch, pots or landscape is a way to add some classy contrast to all the green and orange of a Western Washington autumn. Black ceramic or metal pots or black iron accents for trellis and railings are a classic, but there is one plant that wins the award as the prince of darkness, the master of midnight and the king of deep-black foliage: Black Mondo Grass.
Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon) is actually a member of the lily family and is easy to grow in Western Washington, offering year round color with evergreen, deep black foliage that resembles thick blades of grass. Use clumps in pots to accent summer annuals and spring bulbs, use Black Mondo Grass as a groundcover in shaded areas where lawn won’t grow or to plant in the petticoat zone under the rhododendrons and other shrubs.
The high price of Black Mondo Grass at the nurseries always surprises me as this perennial is so easy to multiply. Pay whatever they ask because one clump of this dramatic foliage plant can become an attractive border or edging just by digging it up in the spring and separating the side shoots or babies that grow out from the mother plants. You will find small bulblets attached to the roots and the more you divide Black Mondo Grass, the quicker it will makes side shoots for sharing or transplanting around the yard.
The power of purple
Plants with dark purple foliage also have the power to provide contrast for the orange, red and golden colors of fall. Flowering cabbage and kale, asters, mums and winter pansies can add a royal touch to fall and winter planters.
Smoke Tree, or Cotinus coggyria “Royal Purple,” is a drought-resistant small tree that stands out with deep purple leaves. Black lace Sambucus, heucheras and purple barberries are other plants that add contrast to our evergreen color scheme.
Beauty berry for fall glam slam
Callicarpa, or Beauty Berry, is a bird-attracting shrub that needs just moderate water and sits in the background most of the year. Then in October this little known wonder of the plant world produces shiny, metallic-looking purple berries that add an air of glamour to the garden just as the fall season is reaching its peak.
October is the time to visit local nurseries and score some fall yardage. Adding more orange and black foliage, plants with fall berries and the power of purple leaves is a great way to add to your fall field goals.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.